116 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 144. 



PBOSPKCTUS of a new Edition of Shakespeare, in TWENTY FOLIO VOIiUMES, correspondinz in size witii the convenient first 

 collective edition of 1623, to suit numerous fac-similes to be made from that work.— Privately printed for Subscribers only. 



THE WORKS 



OF 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, 



WITH A 



^eb) Collation of ti)t earlp (BMiom, 



ALL THB 



ORIGINAL NOVELS AND TALES ON WHICH THE PLAYS ARE FOUNDED; : 



COPIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS TO EACH PLAY; 

 AND A LIFE OF THE POET: 



JAMES 0. HALLIWELL, ESQ., F.R.S., E.S.A., 



Honorary Member of tlie Royal Irish Academy, and of the Royal Society of Literature, &c. 

 THE ILLUSTRATIONS BY AND UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 



F. W. FAIRHOLT, ESQ., F.S.A., 



The preparation of this work has occupied 

 my earnest attention for nearly twelve yca'-s ; 

 my object bei:iij to brin? toj;etIier, from the 

 stores of Elizibat'ian literature, art, or science, 

 whatever really tends to illustrate the paies of 

 tlie itreat poet of the world, in the full convic- 

 tion there yet remains room for one ompre- 

 heiislve elition which shall ansvi^r th3 re- 

 quirements of the stuJeat and zeal )in in uiirsr. 

 Granting that the ■reneral spirit of Shakespeare 

 may be appreciated without the assistance of 

 Ien;th3n3d commsntary, it cannot be denied 

 tliere is much w.iich is obscure to the mjleru 

 reader, — num3rou3 allusions to the litjrature, 

 manners, and phriseolojy of the times which 

 require explanation and careful discussion. 



Eich play will be accom tamed by every 

 kinlofus2ful literary and antiiuarian illus- 

 tratim, extending to complete copies of all 

 novels, tales, or dramas on which it is founded, 

 and entire imiresiions of th-i first sketches, 

 Bome of which will be new to the student, and 

 others carefully collated with th3 oriijinals. 

 in fact, no pains will be spared to render th's 

 edition the most complete in every respect that 

 has y-it been ir ) luced ; suiersedins; entirely the 

 Variorum edition of ISJl, with the addition of 

 all Shakesperian discoveries of any importance 

 whi;h have been made sines that period. The 

 wor« will be copiously illustrated by fac-similes 

 nnl wool-cuts, the direction of which has been 

 undertaken by Mr. Fairholt, who has also mjst 

 kindly promised to assist me in the selection. 

 II is unnecessary to enlarge on the i nportince 

 of such assistance, and the valuable aid to be 

 expected from Mr. Fairholt's extensive reading 

 in Elizabethan literature and intimate ac- 

 quaintance with every department of ancient 

 art. 



The enrraviuTS t'lroujhout will be riridly 

 restricted to subjects which really elucidate 

 the text, srivinz representations of articles 

 mentioned by Shakespeare, or to which he may 

 refer, however slisfhtlv, thus servin? as pic- 

 torial notes to his works. In the case of the 

 ■historic plays, monumental efRjies of the prin- 

 cipal characters, nersonal reliiues, or antiiue 

 views of places alluded to, will be admissible : 

 but in no case will truthfulness be sacriHoed, 

 or a false taste for meretricious picture-makin? 

 allowed. The enTravin=;3 will bo ri?id fac- 

 similes of the oriiinal subjects in all cases, and 

 will depend on their own intrinsic merit as 

 Shakesperian illustrations. There is much in 

 public and private museums which has never 

 yet been used in this wav, and which it will b3 

 our care to investigate, searchin'? far and wide 

 for objects which may secure to our re iders a 

 correct idea of their form and character, as 

 thev were present to the min I of the great 

 dr.imatiit. For such purposes, w> may observe 

 we have already full access ii Lord L-indes- 

 b'>roui;h's collection, and have availed our- 

 selves of others at home and abroad. 



The size of the first folio, after much con- 

 gidcration, has been adopted, not only because 



it is the most convenient folio form (barely 

 measuring fourteen inches by nine), and suits 

 thesi?eof the fac-similes, most of which would 

 otherwise have to be folde 1, but the raainituJe 

 of the undertakia? precludes any other, were 

 it intended to complete it in any reasonable 

 number of volumes. 



We now proceed to speak of the mode of 

 cirMila'ion ; and in anxiously considerinj this 

 subject, have be^n c rjfui to bear in mind the 

 obligations due tt thcorizinal subscribers of so 

 expensive a wo-k, as well as the necessity of 

 the lar^je expeniiturc being reimbursed, to say 

 nothing of an adequate return for the literary 

 labour,— the attainment of which is more than 

 problematical, as it would be incompatible 

 with any arraniemeot which secured the per- 

 manency of a high price. Now, it is a well- 

 known fact that no literary or artistic wjrk 

 maintains its original value unless the impres- 

 sion is strictly limited ; and it is proposed to 

 adopt this course on the present occasion. The 

 Editor, therefjre, pledges himself to limit the 

 number of coiies to " one hun Ir^d and fifty," 

 under the folio iving conditions : — 



1. The impression of this edition of Shake- 

 speare will be most strictly limited to one hun- 

 dred and fifty copies, and each copy will have 

 the printer's autograph certificate that that 

 limit has been preserved. 



2. The work will be completed in ah rat 

 twenty folio volumes ; but any volumes in 

 excess of that number will be presented to the 

 original subsc ibirs. 



3. All the p ates and woodcuts used for this 

 work will be destroyed, and no separate im- 

 pression of any of them will be taken off. 



The original subscription price of each vo- 

 lume (a thick folio, copiously illustrated) will 

 be Two Guine 8 ; and bearing in mind the 

 above restrictions, and the exoenditure requi- 

 site for sueh a work, the Editor is confident 

 that price will not only be retained, but, in all 

 probability, greatly raised within a <ew yea-s. 

 The whole will be completed (d.v.) in six 

 years ; so that for a comparatively small an- 

 nual expenditure (about six guineas) during 

 that period, the subscriber will possess the most 

 complete monograph edition of the works of 

 the greatest poet of all ages. Nor can it be 

 ant'cioated he will be purchasing wha'. is likely 

 to fall in value. He w 11 pos ess a work that 

 can never come into the market, but, in its 

 pecuniary relations, will stand somewhat in 

 the position of a proof engraving, only to be 

 possessed by a very limited number. 



The Editor has been anxious thus to state at 

 some length the considerations which have 

 urged him to limit the impression of the work 

 so strictly ; for however willing, on many ac- 

 counts, to seek a more extensive circulation, 

 he could not bring himself personally to ask 

 ^or support without taking every means to 

 ensure, in their fullest extent, the interests of 

 those who are iiiclined to encourage an ardu- 

 ous under :aking of this kind. The risk, more- 



over, was too great to venture the publication 

 in the ordinary way ; and he was, therefore, 

 compelled either to abandon the hope of print- 

 ing his materials, or to appeal to the select few 

 likely to und-rstand the merits of the design. 



To those few, the Editor hopes he may, 

 without arrogance, aviw the design of offering 

 the m )st cool ms edition of Shakespeare ever 

 printe ', and one of the most important series 

 of volumes that could be placed in an English 

 library. 



It is due to the curators and possessors of the 

 chief Shakesperian collections to acknowledge, 

 with gratitude, the re wliness with which they 

 have given or promised every facility for the 

 purposes of this undertaking ; and, in addition 

 to the sources accessible to my predecessors, the 

 literary treasures of a bibliographical friend, 

 who possesses the finest private collection of 

 early quarto Shakespeares in the world, will be 

 available for the first time in the prenaration 

 of the present edition. The completeness, 

 however, of my own library, in the department 

 of Sfiike^p-riana, renders me to some extent 

 independent of other repositories, having pur- 

 chase I, for several years, every work on the 

 subjec". which has occurred for sale, which wa» 

 not procurable in public libraries. The ex- 

 pense hence incurred would apoear unreason- 

 able to those who were not conversant with the 

 prices realized for dramatic rarities ; two tracts 

 alone having cost me upwards of 100/., and 

 several others averaging very large prices ; a 

 circu nstance only alludrd to for the purpo ^e of 

 remarking that no exertions have been spared 

 in the collection of my materials. 



In conclusion, I am sanguine this long- 

 cherished design should not, will not, fail for 

 want of appreciation. The works of Shake- 

 speare, the greatest of all uninspired authors, 

 should surely be surrounded, in one edition at 

 least, by the reading of the student and the 

 p»ncil of the archaeological draughtsman. In 

 one edition, let every source of useful illustra- 

 tion be exolored and rendered accessible to the 

 student and th» future editor ; and even if 

 there be somfthing redundant, much will re- 

 main suggestive of familiar explanations of 

 obscurities and more popular uses. 



It must be observed that if the demand for 

 this edition should exceed the narrow limits 

 assigned to the impression, as the Editor has 

 every reason to consider will be the case from 

 the somewhat unexpected number of applica- 

 tions already received from the single adver- 

 tisement in this journal, he must reserve a 

 right of selection, especially with regard to all 

 libraries of a permanent character. As the 

 undertaking will be carried on, as it has been 

 conceived, without any commercial views, nJ 

 inducement shall be permitted to influence an 

 alteration in the limit above mentioned. 



All communications or suggestions respect- 

 ing this work should be addressed to Mr. Ilalll- 

 well. Avenue L ^dge, Brixtmi llill, "Surrey. 



Printed by Thomas Clark Shaw, of No. 8. New Street Square, at No. 5. New Street Square, in the Parish of St. Bride, in the City of I.,ondon j and 

 published by Ueokoe Bkll, of No. 1S3. Fleet sticet, in the Parish of St. Dunstan in the West, in the City of Loadon, Publisher, at Wo. 186. 

 Fleet Street aforesaid.- Saturday, July 31. 1852. 



